USATF-New England Headline NewsApril-June 2001
USATF-New England Headline NewsJOHN THOMAS YOUTH MEET RESCHEDULED
(June 28) -- The John Thomas Youth Meet, rained out in early June, has been rescheduled for Wednesday evening, July 11, at 5:00 p.m., White Stadium, Franklin Park, Boston. For an entry, call the USATF-NE office at 617-566-7600
LOUISE TURNS 80
(June 28) -- Louise Rossetti of Saugus MA, a mainstay at races around the region, turns 80 on June 29, making her our oldest female member of USATF-NE. She ran in over 100 events in 2000. (Our oldest male is George Conway, still competing at age 98).
VERMONTERS MORSE, SMYTH WIN MOUNTAIN CIRCUIT
(June 27) -- The 6th annual USATF-NE Mountain Circuit concluded at Mt.Ascutney VT on Sunday, and appropriately, Green Mountain Staters Eric Morse (Berlin VT/CMS) and Donna Smyth (Vernon VT/CSU) won their race divisions as well as overall series wins. Morse was four for four in races he entered in the five race series (best four scores counted) and won his third straight series. He'll be on the US World championship team this fall. Smyth was top women's finisher, winning both the overall and masters divisions and ran all five races; it was her first series win.
For Final Circuit Standings and Mt.Ascutney story, go to the Mountain Running page.
JUNIOR OLYMPIC RESULTS AVAILABLE - NE and REGION I
Results of the June 16 NE Junior Olympic Track and Field meet are now posted here. Only the top 6 per event are available, as there were problems with some age group results. We apologize for the delay. Complete Region I meet results from last weekend can be found at the Maine USATF page .
DONNELLY RECEIVES RRCA GRANT
(June 27) -- Mike Donnelly of Providence was selected as one of six recipients of this year's Road Runners Club of America "Roads Scholar®" grants. Picked from dozens of applications from top quality runners, the Providence College grad has placed highly in USA Championship road races in the past few years. Each recipient receives $4000 intended to assist post-collegiate runners meet the expenses of training.
TOOMEY, TAYLOR WIN MEDALS AT USA CHAMP'S
June 21-24, Eugene OR -- New England runners Jen Toomey and Brenda Taylor won bronze medals at the USA Track & Field Championships held at the University of Oregon. Toomey (Salem MA/Reebok Boston) set her personal best while taking third in the 800 meters, 2:01.25. Taylor (Harvard) also took a third place, clocking 55.99 in the 400 hurdles. Both are in line for the World championships provided they achieve the necessary entry times.
Several other spots on USA teams are still to be decided from the meet results,Placing fourth were Amy Rudolph (Providence/Reebok), in the 5000 at 15:17.41 and Chris Cleaver (Harvard) in the javelin at 237'9". Joanne Dow (Manchester NH/adidas), 20K walk in 1:38:52, and Kristin Chisum (Wayland MA/Reebok Boston) in the 10,000, 32:40.98, took fifth placings, and Jonathan Riley (Brookline MA/Stanford), 5000 at 13:40.13, was sixth. They could figure in selection for spots on other USA teams after standards are reviewed and teams are finalized.
Additionally, a few NE high school and college alumni also made the trip to the medal platform; former Mass. all-scholastic Andy Downin won the 1500 in 3:;37.63. Taking silver were Dartmouth grad Adam Nelson in the shot put (67'5 1/4"), Shea/Pawtucket RI grad Robert Howard in the triple jump (55'7"), Calvin Davis (Dorchester MA) in the 400 hurdles 48.75), and Anna Norgren (U.Vermont) in the hammer 218'9".
Full results can be found at www.usatf.org
SBLI FALMOUTH ROAD RACE ENTRIES AVAILABLE!!
Thanks to Falmouth Road Race sponsor SBLI, USATF-NE has received 10 guaranteed official entries for the now-full August 12 road race. They are available for a contribution of $250 to USATF-NE (entry fee not included).
Those who wish to obtain an entry from us will receive an official USA National Team shirt and other USATF goodies. The entries are only available until the end of June. Contact office@usatfne.org for more information.
USATF NE CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
June 16 -- Click here for full results of the Open Track and Field Championships. Greater Boston TC repeated as team champions for both men and women.
NE JUNIOR OLYMPIC RESULTS
June 16 -- The results have not been finalized; the site for the results will be posted as soon as it is available.
CHAKOUIAN, McCAUGHEY WINNERS AT JUNIOR NATIONALS
Richmond VA, June 16-17 -- Jeff Chakouian, U. Kentucky freshman from Seekonk MA, won gold medals in two throwing events at the USATF Junior National championships. His shot win was a repeat, this year's distance of 63'9" being over 7' further than second place. He also won the discus in 168'5", and earned a spot representing the USA in several competitons this summer.
Another local product matching his 2000 win was Princeton freshman Josh McCaughey out of Providence RI, winning the hammer in 189'9".
Kristen Michalski (West Warwick RI) was the lone NE association silver medal winner as runner-up in the hammer, 181'1", while Samantha Shepard (AirTime/Weston MA) earned the bronze medal in the pole vault at 12'10".
Several other locals also earned All-American honors; the only one to do it in two events was Chris Khan, MIT freshman, with 6th places in the discus and hammer (160'11"/163'5"). Additional locals in the top 8 were Sean Furey (Dartmouth/Methuen MA), 4th in the javelin (203'8"), Laura Gerraughty (Nashua NH), 4th in the shot put (50'8"), Kate Johnston (Warwick RI), 4th in the hammer (169'10"), Paul Lyons (Boston MA), seventh in the shot put (52'0"), Scott Vernon (Bp.Hendricken HS/RI), seventh in the hammer (163'2"), and Nicole Allen, Warwick, 8th in the hammer (158'8").
Other highlights from New England state athletes include Maine high schooler Ben Shorey winning the 10K walk and John Barth of U.Connecticut taking second in the hammer at 176'7",
Full results can be found at www.usatf.org
SCHOLASTICS SHINE AT GOLDEN WEST INVITATIONAL
June 9 -- The 46th annual Golden West Invitational in Sacramento CA is an all-invitational finals only meet for the country's top prep athletes. Association athletes were among the top medal winners. Kate Johnston (Warwick RI) was the lone local winner, taking the hammer in 189'0".
Samantha Shepard (Weston MA) equaled the winner's height of 13'3/4" in the pole vault, but took second on misses. Also winning silver were Said Ahmed (Boston English) in the 800, running 1:50.46 to the winner's 1:50.00, and Christine Bizon (RI) in the hammer (163'9")
Ian Brewer (N.Kingston RI) was a bronze medalist in the hammer at 199'3". Placing fifth in the pole vault was Molly Lederman (Newton MA) at 12'3/4".
Connecticut athletes produced two winners; Glenn McFadden (Hillhouse/New Haven) in the 200 (20.79) and Andre Reed (S.Windsor) in the shot put (65'0").
TRACK & FIELD WEEKEND
Track and Field Championships for Open athletes and Junior Olympics will be contested on Saturday, June 16. The Open meet is at Northeastern University in Dedham MA with field events beginning at 4 and running at 4:45 p.m. Junior Olympics takes place at Rhode Island College in Providence RI, with first event scheduled for 9:00 a.m., and age group comptitions scheduled throughout the day. See this website under track and field for schedules and entry info. Day of event entries are accepted, and all competitors must have USATF membership.
GAITENBY SELECTED FOR USA MARATHON TEAM
June 6 -- Jill Gaitenby (Providence RI), a member of the Merrimack Valley Striders and former USATF-NE Women's LDR Chair, was selected for the USA marathon team which will race in the World Track and Field Championships in Edmonton, Canada in August. Gaitenby, 34, qualified with her 2:36:45 as first American finisher in this year's Boston Marathon - a personal best by nearly 13 minutes. Formerly of Boston, she now trains at Mt. Laguna, Calif. with the Fila Discovery USA program. Others on the five runner team include Olympic Trials champion Christine Clark, Christine Clifton, Jennifer Tonkin and Kim Pawelek.
HARVARD'S TAYLOR WINS HONDA AWARD
June 4 -- Brenda Taylor, a senior at Harvard University, has been named winner of the Honda Award as the top woman collegiate athlete in track & field for 2000-01. The first Harvard scholar-athlete ever to win the award, Taylor won the 400m hurdles at last weekend's NCAA Championships with a Harvard record time of 55.88. A psychology/biology major studying cognitive neuroscience, she was also the 100m and 100m hurdles champion at the 2001 Heptagonal Games, breaking the Heps record in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.56. The two-time All-American was also the Outstanding Athlete at the Indoor and Outdoor Heptagonal Championships this year.
TWILIGHT RESULTS
(June 2) Dedham -- Click here for complete results from the June 2nd Twilight Meet at Northeastern University.
NE COLLEGIANS, ALUMNUS CAPTURE NCAA TITLES
May 30-June 2, Eugene OR -- A pair of Harvard athletes and a Mass HS product took gold medals at the NCAA Division I Championship. Brenda Taylor, who is finishing her stay at Harvard, took the 400 Hurdles in 55.88, and teammate Dora Gyorffy, also a senior and an Olympian for Hungary, won the high jump at 6'2 1/2" at the rainy meet. Jonathan Riley, a senior at Stanford via Brookline HS, earned the 5000 crown (after placing 10th in the 10,000), running 13:42.51. Other New Englanders earning top 5 placings included Tom McArdle (Dartmouth/Brookline MA), fifth in the 10,000 (29:32.39); Amber Knighton (Brown), fifth in the shot put (54'7 1/4"); Jeff Chakouian (Kentucky/Seekonk MA), fourth in the shot put (64'3 1/4"); and Tamika Toppin (U.Connecticut) 2nd in the high jump (6'0.5"). Several other locals also made the finals in college's big show. Full results can be found at www.flashresults.com
JOHN THOMAS YOUTH MEET POSTPONED
Saturday's John Thomas Youth Meet in Boston was postponed due to the rain. The new date (sometime in July) will be posted here in the near future.
LOCALS FAST AT ADIDAS OREGON CLASSIC
Portland OR, June 3 -- At the latest stop on USATF's Golden Spike Tour, Amy Rudolph (Providence) was 4th in the 3000 - 8:54.07 - and Jen Toomey (Salem MA) 8th in the 800 - 2:02.33. Mass.HS product Andy Downin turned in a big PR 3:56.25 in the mile.
RUSSELL, ST.HILLAIRE AMONG TOPS AT FREIHOFER'S
June 2, Albany NY -- Blake Russell (Medford MA) placed 2nd at the Freihofer's Run for Women, the USATF National 5K championship. Russell's time was 15:58, and was one spot better than her 2000 placing. Judi St.Hillaire (Somerset MA) was fifth overall and the masters champion, clocking 16:18.
WHEATON WOMEN WIN NCAA TITLE
May 26, Decatur IL Wheaton College (Norton MA) won the women's team title at the NCAA Division III National Track and Field Championships on Saturday. Led by wins in the 400 (Amber James, 54.20) and the 4 x 100 (46.60), Wheaton scored 83.5 points. Also earning gold medals were Mary Proulx (Keene St) in both the 3000 (9:43.46) and 5000 (17:06.40), and Healy Thompson (Williams) in the shot put. Kristy Laramee of Middlebury won the high jump ( 5'9 3/4" -the season's best jump in Division III.) On the men's side, Wheaton and Williams tied for 7th with 24 points. There were three local men's winners: Mark Miller (Keene St) in the 1500, Dave Patteson (Tufts) in the steeplechase, and Reheim Greenidge (Wheaton) in the triplejump. Full results at www.raceberryjam.com
GARCIA, DUNHAM NAMED TO WORLD 100K TEAM
(May 25) The USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail Council have picked two New Englanders for the USA 100km Team which will compete in the 2001 IAU 100km World Challenge on August 26 in France. Jimbo Garcia (CMS/Westford, MA) and Dave Dunham (CMS/Bradford MA) are part of the 6 runner men's team. Garcia has been a World Team medal winner at 100Km in the past, while this is Dunham's first World 100Km appearance. On the women's team, Christy Cosgrove (Boxford MA) has been named as a team alternate.
NE 10K TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS WEEKEND
The USATF-NE 10K Track Championship races will run this Saturday evening, May 26. The men's race will run at the Northeastern University Twilight meet in Dedham after 6:30 p.m.; send info to umbtrack@aol.com. The Woman's 10K race will be contested at the Boston High Performance Meet at Leary Field in Waltham MA after 7 p.m.; send info to Bostonentries@hotmail.com. Contact Track Chairman Mike Nary at nary@newburport.net with any other questions.
HINGA, BLAKE TAKE 12K
Bedford NH (May 19) David Hinga and Jessica Blake both ran to their first New England championship wins at the 28th Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K race in Bedford NH on Saturday. The race had its largest field ever with 505 finishers on a sunny but windy day. Hinga, last month's 10K runner-up who represents Merrimack Valley Striders, edged Chris Magill of the BAA by three seconds, 37:39 to 37:42, with Dave Dunham just 2 more seconds behind. Off of his second place, Magill moved into first in the GP series individual standings. CMS won the team title in both the open and masters catagories Blake, who runs for Greater Boston TC, had a larger margin of victory in the women's race. Her time of 44:24 was 32 seconds ahead of Maggie Murray (Whirlaway), who was also first master. Blake and Murray now top the women's open and masters individual placings, respectively. Whirlaway won both the open and masters team trophies. Series standings can be found under the USATF-NE Grand Prix page. Full race results are at www.coolrunning.com; Next series race is Sunday, July 15, at the Stowe (VT) 8 Miler.
BAY STATE GAMES SITES ANNOUNCED
Two Bay State Games Track and Field meet sites have been finalized. The Metro qualifier are set for Harvard University in Boston, and the finals are now scheduled at Northeastern. See the track schedule for updates.
BENTLEY SEEKS ASSISTANT COACH
Bentley College is looking for an assistant coach to work with sprints and jumps starting in the fall. Contact coach Ed Lyons by phone at 781-891-2995 or by e-mail at ELyons@bentley.edu
FALMOUTH ROAD RACE IS FULL FOR 2001
The SBLI Falmouth Road Race is full for 2001. You can find out more about the race (and entry for 2002) at www.falmouthroadrace.com
CHISHUM 2nd, DONNELLY 3rd in US 25K CHAMP'S
Kristen Chisum (Wayland MA) took the US Championship silver medal at the River Bank Run 25K in Grand Rapids MI on Saturday, Fourth overall (the race was won by Svetlana Zakharova (RUS) in a course record 1:24:39), she was 2nd American behind Milena Glusac, who ran the 4th best US time ever, 1:26:05 Chisum's time of 1:27:26 was a personal best for the distance. Mike Donnelly (Providence RI) was 7th in the men's race and third American, recording 1:16:36 for the distance. His placing put him in the lead of the National 2001 USA LDR Running Circuit.
CONNECTICUT WINS NEW ENGLAND COLLEGIATE TRACK TITLE
May 11-12 , Storrs CT University of Connecticut repeated as team titlist at the New England Intercollegiates last weekend. Full results at www.bu.edu/track/NewEngland/NEHome.html. The women's meet, held in Williamstown MA, also went to UConn.
MOUNTAIN CHAMPIONSHIP RUNS SATURDAY
USATF-NE Mountain Championships take place on Saturday May 12 at Windblown Ski Area in New Ipswich NH. Registration begins at 8am and the race begins at 9. Up for grabs in the competition are spots on the World Mountain Running Chanpionship team for the fall; 2 men's spots and one woman's spot on the US team are open to the top Americans. Thus far, 5 former US team members have signed up for the race! For more info and entry forms, contact the USATF-NE office.
10K RESULTS UPDATED!
The 10K team results have been updated since Friday. Check out the "final" version on our Grand Prix page.
DWYER, DONAHUE TOPS AT 10K
Dedham MA (April 29) -- Reebok Boston teammates Jack Dwyer and Rebecca Donohue took the New England 10K titles at Sunday's James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Dwyer's time of 29:57 was one of the fastest NE road times over 10K in recent years. He is now 2 for 2 in the series, having won the 1/2 marathon in March; he led his club to team titles in both as well. Donahue's was her first championship, finishing in 34:09.
Craig Fram (40+), Bill Dixon (50+), and Rebecca Stockdale-Wooley also won their second straight division crown for the year.
Overall winners in event records and very fast times were Kenyans Stephen Kiogora (28:45) and Margaret Komu (32:54). There were 2905 finishers. Full individual results are at www.ramble.org; Grand Prix standings after 2 events now updated on the Grand Prix page
2001 NEW ENGLAND TWILIGHT MEETS
This year's NEW ENGLAND TWILIGHT MEETS will be held at the Solomon Track, Northeastern U., Dedham MA, Saturdays - JUNE 2 and JUNE 9. Northeastern is hosting twilight meets on May 19 and 26 with most events contested; contact umbtrack@aol.com. Click here for additional info.
GAITENBY, BECK TOP NEW ENGLANDERS AT BOSTON MARATHON
Jill Gaitenby (Providence RI/Merrimack Valley Striders) and Kevin Beck (Concord NH/CMS) topped the New England performance lists at the 105th B.A.A. Boston Marathon on Monday. Gaitenby, our 1999 New England Grand Prix Champion, was 14th overall and first American as well. Her time of 2:36:45 was a personal best by 12 minutes! She has been training in California as part of the Fila Discovery USA program. In the men's race, Beck took 28th place with his 2:24:25. First native New Englander was Mark Coogan (North Attleboro MA). Now in Wisconsin, Coogan finished 19th in 2:18:58. In the masters 40-49 division, 8th and 9th in the women's race went to Nancy Corsaro (Methuen MA/Whirlaway) and Marge Bellisle (Warren RI/CMS) in 2:55:11 and 3:00:18, respectively. For the men, Glen Gullemette (W.Warwick/TNT) was 7th in 2:27:35 and Karl Amundwon (Cambridge MA) 9th in 2:34:51. The 50+ division, saw a win by Vladimir Krivoy (Halifax MA) in 2:39:30, and a 2nd by Sue Gustafson (Norwell MA/LibertyAC) in 3:12:40. Bill Riley (Marstons Mills MA/BAA) was 3rd 60+ in 3:10:56.
Top USATF-NE finishers by state: MA: F31.Jessica Blake, GBTC, 2:53:25; M43.John Mortimer, Somerville, 2:29:55 NH: F125. Kathleen Proulx, Windham/MVS, 3:14:46; M28.Beck, 2:24:25 RI: F14.Gaitenby, 2:36:45; M37: Glen Guillemette, TNT/W.Warwick, 2:27:35 VT: F85.Amy Chekos, Burlington, 3:09:20; M-Todd Kingsbury, Waitsfield, 2:54:24. Full results can be found at www.bostonmarathon.org
BAA, CMS, GBTC CLUBS SCORE HIGH AT MARATHON
A trio of local clubs recoreded top 3 finishes in the team competition at the 2001 Boston Marathon. Central Mass Striders masters women took the win in their division, with Marge Bellisle, Maureen Burns, and Joann Shields combining for 10:06:53. CMS Open Men and Masters Men both took silver medals, while the Greater Boston TC (8:59:47) was second for open women. The host BAA was third in the Men's Open (7:46:11) and the Women's Open (9:06:15) catagories.
This year, each club scored only one team, and the status as a USATF or RRCA club or a legitimate foreign club was validated beforehand. Open team winners were Lehigh Valley RRC of Pennsylvania (7:25:13) and Bears RC of New Jersey (8:48:52)
JENNINGS ELECTED TO HALL OF FAME
Four new members have been elected to the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in Utica, New York. The new members include New Hampshire's Lynn Jennings, along with late New York City Marathon director Fred Lebow, and Olympians Bill Dellinger and Craig Virgin.
A nine-time U.S. cross country champ, Jennings won the world cross country championship three straight years (1990-1992). She was also a three-time Olympian, winning the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
DUNHAM SETS US 50K RECORD
Chicago IL (April 7) - USATF-NE board member Dave Dunham (Bradford MA/CMS) won the Chicago Lakefront 50K on Saturday, setting a pending U.S. Men's Road Record of 2:57:35. Despite bad weather conditions - winds gusting to 40mph on the multiple out-and-back course and temperatures approaching 80 degrees - Dunham, 37, sealed the fate of the Jeff Wall's official 50 Km mark of 3:00:00 set in 1982. He took advantage of a tailwind over the last five miles to average 5:30 per mile after running steady 6 minute miles for the first marathon. Congratulations to Dave!
AMERICAN JUNIOR 5000 RECORD FOR SANCHEZ !!!
(March 31) -- Lynn MA native and former Massachusetts scholastic champion Franklin Sanchez set a new US Junior (not turning 20 during the year) Record in the 5000 meters with a third place finish at this weekend's Stanford Invitational. Now a freshman at Georgetown, Sanchez ran a stellar 13:38.39 to break the venerable 13:39.6 time of Steve Prefontaine set in 1970. In the same meet, Jonathan Riley (Brookline MA/Stanford) took 2nd in the 10,000 meters in a sizzling 28:33.71
APRIL FIELD EVENT CLINICS
POLE VAULT CLINIC IN WORCESTER
The annual spring vault clinic will be held at Holy Cross College, in Worcester, MA, on Tuesday, April 18, 10:00 a.m. John Hoogasian will lead the instruction. For all abilities. Limited space. Discount fee for USATF members. office@usatfne.org for application.
POLE VAULT CLINIC IN VERMONT
A pole vault clinic for coaches and officials will be held April 21 at Middlebury College in Middlebury VT. Classroom format. Contact Dave Kerin, dkerin@middlebury.edu / 802-443-2420
JAVELIN/THROWS CLINIC IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
USATF-NE will host a javelin / throws clinic at Londonderry NH HS on Tuesday, April 24, at 11:00 a.m.. Tom Petranoff will lead this clinic. Discount fee for USATF members. office@usatfne.org for application.
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